First reactor of Leningrad NPP reconnected to power grid after 18-month of repairs

MOSCOW, November 25, 23:48 /ITAR-TASS/. The first power unit of the Leningrad nuclear power plant (NPP) was re-connected to the national power grid after 18 months of large-scale repair works aimed at the restoration of the graphite stack’s life characteristic, an official at the Russian Rosenergoatom concern said on Monday. He reaffirmed that the reactor was halted on May 6, 2012.

“The power unit was re-commissioned as expected. Now, all systems are operating normally, which is confirmed by relevant data,” the official said. “In the next few days, the power unit’s generating capacity will increase to the designated level.”

A technology, which was applied at the Leningrad NPP’s first power unit, will be used at all Rosenergoatom’s power units equipped with graphite-moderated RBMK reactors. They will guarantee their operation within the planned extended service life.

The period of repairs allowed NPP specialists to give scientific evidence for the possibility of repairs and a repair program as well as to design special machinery units and measuring systems, including those to monitor the status of the graphite stack when the reactor operates according to capacity, Rosenergoatom’s press service said.